Records reveal that Parks Canada knew about 154,000 acres of dead pine trees standing in Jasper National Park prior to a major wildfire on July 24, which left hundreds of residents homeless. Blacklock's Reporter says the disclosure came after Conservative MP Arnold Viersen (Peace River-Westlock, Alta.) requested the information in Parliament.The Inquiry of Ministry, tabled in the Commons, confirmed that as of 2023, 62,449 hectares of dead pine were left in Jasper National Park following a mountain pine beetle infestation. “Parks Canada undertook a broad preliminary and broadly scoped search in order to determine the amount of information that would fall within the scope of the question,” management wrote, adding that the data isn’t systematically tracked in a centralized database.Parks Canada did not provide information on how much of the dead pine had been cleared through cutting or controlled burns, noting that manually collecting and validating this data “could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.”The fire ultimately destroyed 358 buildings, leaving 40% of Jasper residents without homes. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault attributed the damage to climate change rather than forest management practices. “Rising average temperatures which create drier conditions and more intense forest fires are one demonstration of the impact of climate change,” Guilbeault said on September 18.In response to Viersen’s inquiry on how many hectares of dead pine had been left in Jasper, Parks Canada did not disclose details on preventive measures taken, if any. A 2022 Implementation Report noted that controlled burns had not been widely used, and mechanical thinning was limited to a mere 1.6 hectares, or roughly four of the 154,000 acres identified as high-risk.Viersen has previously questioned the effectiveness of the federal carbon tax, including its role in reducing climate impacts. “I asked the Minister of Environment to point me to which flood, fire, hurricane, or drought had been prevented by all of Albertans having to pay the carbon tax,” he stated in the Commons. “The carbon tax only makes Canadians poorer. It does not do anything to ensure that Canadians could prevent the effects of climate change or work to mitigate those effects.”Parks Canada has not yet addressed how it plans to mitigate wildfire risks in Jasper going forward, nor has it released a timeline for further clearing of dead trees.
Records reveal that Parks Canada knew about 154,000 acres of dead pine trees standing in Jasper National Park prior to a major wildfire on July 24, which left hundreds of residents homeless. Blacklock's Reporter says the disclosure came after Conservative MP Arnold Viersen (Peace River-Westlock, Alta.) requested the information in Parliament.The Inquiry of Ministry, tabled in the Commons, confirmed that as of 2023, 62,449 hectares of dead pine were left in Jasper National Park following a mountain pine beetle infestation. “Parks Canada undertook a broad preliminary and broadly scoped search in order to determine the amount of information that would fall within the scope of the question,” management wrote, adding that the data isn’t systematically tracked in a centralized database.Parks Canada did not provide information on how much of the dead pine had been cleared through cutting or controlled burns, noting that manually collecting and validating this data “could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.”The fire ultimately destroyed 358 buildings, leaving 40% of Jasper residents without homes. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault attributed the damage to climate change rather than forest management practices. “Rising average temperatures which create drier conditions and more intense forest fires are one demonstration of the impact of climate change,” Guilbeault said on September 18.In response to Viersen’s inquiry on how many hectares of dead pine had been left in Jasper, Parks Canada did not disclose details on preventive measures taken, if any. A 2022 Implementation Report noted that controlled burns had not been widely used, and mechanical thinning was limited to a mere 1.6 hectares, or roughly four of the 154,000 acres identified as high-risk.Viersen has previously questioned the effectiveness of the federal carbon tax, including its role in reducing climate impacts. “I asked the Minister of Environment to point me to which flood, fire, hurricane, or drought had been prevented by all of Albertans having to pay the carbon tax,” he stated in the Commons. “The carbon tax only makes Canadians poorer. It does not do anything to ensure that Canadians could prevent the effects of climate change or work to mitigate those effects.”Parks Canada has not yet addressed how it plans to mitigate wildfire risks in Jasper going forward, nor has it released a timeline for further clearing of dead trees.
